Police have detained two suspects and have also recovered the vehicle that
was believed to have been used in the ruthless armed robbery at the Scotia Bank
branch in Spanish Lookout yesterday morning. Police have not released the names
of those persons – but they have disclosed the names of two wanted persons
and they are both from San Pedro Town. They are 26 year old Alexander Edwards
and 24 year old Gabriel Salazar. Police stress that these men are considered
armed and dangerous – anyone seeing them should call 0-800-922-TIPS, or
the nearest police station.

Police have also disclosed the scale of the bank robbery and it is –
again – unprecedented; as the robbers made off with $300,000 from the
vault!

Here’s how it happened. Police say that the white Suzuki Sidekick pulled
up at the bank and three armed masked men got out; one of them immediately pulled out a single action shotgun and killed 32 year old unarmed security guard Steven
Lopez. Two of the gunmen strode into the bank and demanded money while another
put a gun to the head of the other security guard Theodoro Dano and forced him
inside. The gunmen took the manager and employees to the vault where the robbers
helped themselves to $300,000 in different denominations, all in Belize currency.

They finished up and on their way out, Lizburn Andrews was just driving into
the bank’s compound to make a deposit and they robbed him of $10,000 and
drove off towards the Los Tambos Area. Police found the Suzuki and the two un-named
suspects in the area of Valley of Peace Village.

Alexander Edwards who is one of the wanted men was in the news in February
of last year when he was wanted for the murder of two persons in a drug related
execution on northern Ambergris Caye. Again anyone seeing him or Gabriel Salazar
is asked to call police as both men are considered armed and dangerous.